Our policy states that all purchases are final and non-refundable. A purchase confirmation email was sent to email: XXXX.XXXX@hotmail.com [Hillman's son] each time a purchase was made because that is the email that was designated as a contact email on the billing profile …….. you are responsible for any material that a user of your Services account accesses or is denied access to (including as a result of your use or non-use of Parental Controls). You acknowledge that use of our settings is not a substitute for your personal supervision of minors that use your Services account.

"Losing $4,5000 for many families would be a life-changing disaster," Hillman writes. "For us it is very upsetting and means we'll have to tighten our belts and forgo some luxuries but we will recover relatively quickly."

Nonetheless, he's still angry with Microsoft, questioning why there were no automatic checks on how much could be spent in the game, or why there was no option to have it request the card details be re-entered for each purchase (Hillman entered them himself initially to pay for the game). He also says the "treatment we have had at the hands of Microsoft has been appalling," keeping them waiting for more than a week despite earlier assurances.

The issue of parental controls on payments has been a hot topic in recent years. Apple has previously been criticised after media reports of children spending hundreds — or even thousands — on their parents' cards. It's possible to lock down iOS devices so card details need to be reentered if it's 15 minutes after the last purchase, however.

"If Microsoft wanted to spare thousands of parents from the frustration, anger and sometimes, serious financial consequences then it could find hundred ways to do it," Hillman concluded. "If there's a lawyer out there that wants to start a class-action against Microsoft and force them into compensation and adopting a better policy I'll happily sign up."

A Microsoft spokesperson told Business Insider that the company is "aware and [is] investigating the case internally." When asked whether Microsoft's controls on in-game purchases are adequate, the spokesperson responded with the following statement:

We continually evaluate feedback from parents and the Xbox Live community, and acknowledge and investigate concerns around alleged unapproved purchases made with their parents’ or caregivers’ payment accounts. This is why we provide parents with tools in parental controls to block premium content purchasing on the accounts of their children and teens. However, purchases made using a parent’s payment account are legitimate transactions under the Xbox Live Terms of Use. We encourage parents to use the many platform and service features we make available to prevent unapproved charges.